Recently released video of a shooting outside a Chicago lounge shows an off-duty deputy using one of the gunman as a human shield amid the violent altercation.
The deputy, Michael Raines, was uninjured in the gunfight, but died the next year after overdosing on fentanyl-laced heroin, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Raines was walking down the block in West Town on Nov. 30, 2014 when he spotted a man — later identified as Fernando Lopez — waving a firearm outside the now-shuttered Funky Buddha Lounge.
Video of the incident, which had not been released to the public until Thursday, is without sound but catches the start of the heated incident in the early hours of the morning.
Raines, with his own weapon drawn, can be seen racing toward Lopez as he fires his weapon into the air. He then shoots at the gunman, who in turn clutches his side and makes a run for the sidewalk outside the bar off Grand Avenue.
Raines rushes Lopez but is approached by another gunman, later identified as Mario Orta, according to the Tribune. That’s when Raines pulls the wounded Lopez close and points a gun to his head as he crouches behind him for protection.
Orta eventually gets into a parked car, but jumps out and runs away. He was arrested the following day on the West Side, according to the newspaper. Authorities have said he shot at Raines, though it is not clear in the video.
Orta, 30, pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated discharge of a firearm and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He received credit for the 967 days he spent in the Cook County Jail waiting for his trial, according to court documents.
Federal security officers rescue woman who fell on subway tracks
Lopez, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault of a peace officer. He has since bonded out of jail and is scheduled to appear in court next month.
A third man, 25-year-old Nathaniel Nunes, pleaded guilty to gun possession and reckless discharge of a firearm in connection with the incident. He was handed a four-year prison sentence.
Following the shooting, Raines was put on leave pending an investigation into the incident. He boarded a bus just before noon on Oct. 8, 2015 and its driver found him unresponsive at the end of her route, just after 1 p.m., according to the Tribune.
Records from the Cook County medical examiner’s office show that Raines suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia and neuropathy as well as an addiction to alcohol and heroin. He was still on leave at the time of his death.
The sheriff’s department Office of Professional Review conducted the internal investigation and determined that Raines’ actions were justified.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com